News Release: NREL’s Economic Impact Tops $872 Million

June 4, 2015

The
economic impact of the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL) was $872.3 million nationwide in fiscal year 2014, according to a study
by the University of Colorado Boulder's Leeds School of Business.

The
study estimates NREL's impact to Colorado's economy totaled $701 million, a
decline of 1.6 percent from the prior year. The slight year-over-year drop was
largely attributed to a decline in major construction spending that came as
NREL completed the planned build-out of its sustainable campus.

Jefferson
County, where the largest concentration of NREL employees is located, saw a $275
million economic impact from the national lab. The Golden-based research laboratory
is among the 10 largest employers in the county, according to the study, which
was done by Richard Wobbekind and Brian Lewandowski of the Business Research
Division at the Leeds School of Business.

NREL
develops clean energy and energy efficiency technologies and practices, advances
related to science and engineering, and provides knowledge and innovations to
integrate energy systems at all scales. NREL received $382 million in funding
during 2014.

"This report shows how important NREL has
become in taking our ongoing research into clean energy and making it available
for the marketplace so that everyone can benefit," said Dan Arvizu, NREL director
and president of Alliance for Sustainable Energy. "The completion of the NREL campus
build-out plan gives our scientists better tools to do even more collaborative
work with established companies and startups on new energy technologies."

The
CU-Boulder study, which also contains data for fiscal years 2012 and 2013,
found that during 2014 NREL:

Employed 1,730 full-time and 105
part-time employees.

Contributed $470,000 raised by
employees to more than 400 charities. That figure includes a 10 percent match
by Alliance for Sustainable Energy for every employee dollar given.

NREL's ongoing support of the
entrepreneurial community through its annual Industry Growth Forum.

Almost
60 percent of workers at NREL are involved in research and development,
according to the study, which also highlighted a highly educated workforce.
Among NREL workers, 95 percent hold at least a bachelor's degree, and 63
percent have earned advanced degrees, including 31 percent with a doctorate.

The
scheduled completion of NREL's sustainable campus resulted in six buildings earning
certification as LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council, including the
ESIF and the Research Support Facility (RSF). The addition of ESIF to the
campus gives NREL an unparalleled collection of state-of-the-art capabilities
that supports the development, evaluation, and demonstration of innovative
clean energy technologies. The RSF is a net-zero energy building, meaning that
over the course of a year it produces at least as much energy as it uses. The
NREL site serves as a model for the construction of energy-efficient buildings
and campuses.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national
laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development.
NREL is operated for the Energy Department by the Alliance for Sustainable
Energy, LLC.